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An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has told her colleagues that she finds no basis there is probable cause to pursue fraudulent mortgage charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, as reported by a source acquainted with the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who oversees significant prosecutions in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, will imminently present her assessment to Lindsey Halligan, a ally of the former president who was installed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the previous month.

The Justice Department did not respond on the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also did not return a request for comment.

High-Profile Clash Between Department of Justice and Trump

This case represents another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has in the past removed attorneys who refused to target his critics. Halligan, who possesses no prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role after requests by Trump after her predecessor concluded there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against James Comey, the ex- FBI director.

Trump has publicly called for the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute James, who spearheaded a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the decision was subsequently reversed by a New York state appellate court.

Loan Fraud Allegations and Inquiry

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a dedicated Trump ally, made a allegation against James to the Justice Department in April, asserting she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte pointed to mortgage documents related to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James helped purchase for her niece, in which James suggested on a document that she planned to occupy the home as her principal dwelling. James was holding the position of the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors assembled a grand jury in May to look into the matter but had trouble building a case against James, even with demands from Trump allies. Electronic correspondence from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents reveal James directly noting that she did not intend for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence makes it difficult for prosecutors to prove that James knowingly lied on the mortgage documents.

Ongoing Changes in Justice Office

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have either been fired or resigned in recent weeks as Trump has ramped up pressure on the office to bring charges against Comey and James.

Erik Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, resigned on September 19 after encountering pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a key deputy to Siebert, was also terminated in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a prominent national security prosecutor in the office, was also fired last week after unfounded accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is more concerned with targeting the President’s political foes than they are with protecting our national security,” he stated in his farewell letter to colleagues.

“Justice for Americans affected by our enemies should not be contingent on what someone in the Department of Justice encounters in their online content that day.”